Monday, December 9, 2013

A Cold Day In Philly - the End of Wrestling Is Cool

A snowy day in Philly as well, but none compares to the chill in the air, the feeling of everyone, both fan and wrestler a like, as what was believed to be the final Wrestling is Cool event of 2013 turned into the final Wrestling is Cool event, period.
Let's cover some of the good from yesterday's event:

Drew Gulak and Mark Angelosetti had one of the best matches I've seen live in 2013 or had the pleasure to call, ever. I mention a lot of this on commentary, but I've seen both men from the very beginnings of both their respective careers and to see them compete in such a fashion blew me away. Other promotions have attempted to get this match on their events in the past, I'm just glad it will get to be seen. Just check Smart Mark Video in the coming weeks for availability, you'll be glad you did.

Something I'm not glad I saw was the reprehensible behavior of Eddie Kingston, who lost via count-out to Jolly Roger. He ran through Roger in very short order, however, instead of going for the pin, he continued to verbally berate many of the ringside fans in attendance wearing "I AM CHIKARA" shirts. The moment the decision was declared, Kingston went wild, physically attacking one of the aforementioned fans, trying to tear the shirt right off his back! Wrestling is Cool owner Wrestling is Cool (more on him later) threatened to call the authorities on Kingston and withhold his pay if he did not leave immediately. Needless to say, Kingston did not stick around.

The rivalry between the Colony and the Devastation Corporation just keeps going. Dating back to the wild brawl in Chicago as part of CHIKARA's Tag World Grand Prix this past May, whenever these two groups are across the ring from each other, be ready for a great one. This match was no exception, ending with Blaster McMassive and Flex Rumblecrunch leaving Fire Ant and Green Ant laid out.

I mentioned the name Milo Schnitzler earlier, the heretofore unseen owner. And by that I mean, always at the events, just content to stay behind the scenes. This past Sunday, however, he was the most active he's ever been! Little did we know what caused this change in behavior until he showed his true colors.

Any fan of professional wrestling knows the initials BDK: Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (German for "Brotherhood of the Cross") and of their dominance in CHIKARA some years ago. By the summer of 2011, the group had fragmented and by the end of that year, their mastermind, Ares, was defeated and all but left professional wrestling for good.

Then, a few weeks ago, this video appeared on the BDK YouTube page:

The same YouTube channel where the BDK made threats toward CHIKARA all those years ago had laid dormant. Given the war unleashed the last time Ares focused his attentions on wrestling, this was not a message to be dismissed out-of-hand. Several people on yesterday's Wrestling is Cool card had been in attendance when other companies were destroyed in the wake of such threats. The rising tide of evil in pro-wrestling has become a wave with a white head. Many expected an assault.

But none were prepared for the attack to come from inside. As the main event came to a close and the Devastation Corporation left the ring, Milo Schnitzler entered the ring and attacked ring announcer Gavin Loudspeaker! Then, he signaled to his compatriots, Ares and a giant masked man we have never seen before, who entered by splitting a wall! They declared anyone in the ring (Gavin and the Colony) to be out of a job and that there was no reason to maintain the facade of Wrestling is Cool any longer.

Schnitzler's ominous final words to the crowd were: "There is no stopping us now." True to the modus operandi that marked their arrival in pro-wrestling just a few years ago, die Bruderschaft had been waiting patiently to activate their sleeper agent, Milo Schnitzler. I always thought something was off with his "American accent."

Much of this was relayed to me after the fact, as I am not a brave person, and as soon as Gavin was attacked, I high-tailed it out of the building. Men much braver than I, including the ThunderFrog, Mark Angelosetti and Jervis Cottonbelly among others, hit the ring to prevent any further injury to their fallen comrades.